Who advises you about SEO or Pay Per Click? Do they ever say that things are tough? Perhaps. Who helps you with your business planning? Does he or she ever tell you about difficulties?

If you answer "yes" to questions like this, you need to change your advisers - fast. Psychologists have known for a long time that mood is contagious. When someone in the room laughs out loud, you feel happier. When people look sad, you feel unhappy. When someone tells you the recession is biting hard, you agree that there has indeed been an impact.

Other people affect the way we think. But new research shows that not only is mood catching, but so too is poor decision-making. In other words, if your advisers on SEO or PPC make bad decisions for you, then you too are likely to make poor decisions.

Successful people surround themselves with other successful people. Success is contagious too. So, if your online business is not doing as well as you would like, the chances are you could be mixing with the wrong people.

Time, perhaps, to review who advises you on every aspect of your online business.